Wendy Williams looked happy and relaxed as she was pictured in public for the first time in over a year during a shopping trip at a herbal supplement store in Newark, New Jersey earlier this month.
The talk show host, who turned 60 in July, posed for a photo with one of the owners of African Bio Mineral Cell Food, Victor Bowman, on Sunday, August 18, and looked like her usual glamorous self as she clutched a bouquet of flowers and smiled for the camera.
Wendy hasn’t been seen in public since May 2023, which is when she was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. The diagnosis came one year after Wendy was placed under a court-ordered legal guardianship that oversees both her finances and health.
New York lawyer Sabrina Morrissey was assigned as her guardian after Wells Fargo froze her accounts in 2022, as a result of her financial adviser at the time claiming that she was of ‘unsound mind.’
Despite Wendy’s relatives claiming in July that they were denied contact with her, she was evidently on the New Jersey outing with her only child, Kevin Hunter Jr., who also posed for a photo with Victor.
Wendy Williams has been spotted in public for the first time in over a year at a herbal supplement shop in Newark, New Jersey
Victor Bowman, who works at the herbal store, also posed for a picture with Wendy’s son Kevin Hunter Jr. (right)
Wendy flaunted her bare legs in a blue button up dress, which she teamed with a pair of chunky white moon boots and bright pink lipstick and matching nail polish. She wore her hair down and was sporting bangs as she wrapped her arm around the man’s waist.
The post was captioned: ‘Much love to Wendy Williams and her son @topfloor_kev I remember when I met Kevin in Usha village, my dad told me I want you to meet Wendy’s son. At that time, we were the only ones of the same age in Usha.’
And people were quick to comment on it.
‘This makes me smile,’ one person wrote, while another said: ‘So glad to see this….’
A third fan commented: ‘Wendy looks good! God bless her,’ while a fourth said: ‘Yes please get her back healthy we miss the old Wendy.’
‘This is so wholesome, her story has been heartbreaking…,’ another person claimed, while someone else wrote: ‘Yes!! So happy for her!’
According to The US Sun, the store’s manager said of Wendy and Kevin’s visit: ‘When they came, they didn’t ask for specific things, and they were talking about health and wellness.
‘Wendy did mention how she wanted to detox more herself. It was like she wanted to learn more about the products before she jumped in, so we are expecting to have her back so we can go more in-depth. This was kind of an icebreaker.’
‘She did mention she is dealing with brain fog as well, and that she wanted to get more mental clarity,’ he continued.
A documentary chronicling Wendy’s life since 2022, Where Is Wendy Williams? aired on Lifetime in February 2024
Fans were concerned as the four-part series showed Wendy downing a bottle of vodka and crying
‘She also said she is dealing with stress, because who’s not battling that, but she didn’t go in much more detail on that. She also mentioned she wanted to work on her circulation.’
The store manager also said that it seemed Wendy had gotten care elsewhere, as he added: ‘Whatever type of care she was getting, which she didn’t describe – it seems like she’s definitely looking into other stuff and wanting to learn more.’
Fans were left feeling concerned for Wendy when a documentary chronicling her life since 2022, aired on Lifetime in February 2024.
In March, it was reported that Wendy was allegedly paid $100,000 per episode for her involvement in the four-part docuseries titled Where Is Wendy Williams?
At the same time, it was revealed that Wendy’s guardian had filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Lifetime, A&E Television Networks with allegations of ‘blatant exploitation’ in ‘disgusting’ fashion.
The guardian, Sabrina, filed the lawsuit under temporary seal (which keeps details in the case protected from the public) last month, but the docs were unsealed and reviewed Thursday by The Hollywood Reporter, revealing explosive accusations in the case.
‘This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed,’ the legal team for Williams’ guardian told the court.
Sabrina told the court that the talk show host ‘did not have the capacity to consent,’ according to THR, and producers did not get her consent, as her court-appointed guardian, to produce it.
Williams was misled by producers into thinking that the documentary would be a ‘positive and beneficial’ project for her public image and reputation, the suit stated.